Protecting the H&S of employees or members of the public who may be affected by your activities is an essential part of risk management and must be led by directors.
Failure to include H&S as a key business risk in board decisions can have catastrophic results. Many high-profile safety cases over the years have been rooted in failures of leadership. HSE figures reveal the human and financial cost of failing to address H&S.
This microsite sets out an agenda for the effective leadership and implementation of H&S. It is a joint initiative by the HSE and the IoD and it is designed for use by all directors, governors, trustees, officers and their equivalents in the private, public and third sectors, and applies to organisations of all sizes.
The board should set the direction for effective H&S management and establish a H&S policy that is much more than a document - it should be an integral part of your organisation's culture, of its values and performance standards.
Delivery depends on an effective management system to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the H&S of employees, customers and members of the public.
Monitoring and reporting are vital parts of a H&S culture. Management systems must allow the board to receive both specific (e.g. incident-led) and routine reports on the performance of H&S policy.
a formal boardroom review of H&S performance is essential. It allows the board to establish whether the essential H&S principles - strong and active leadership, worker involvement, and assessment and review - have been embedded in the organisation.
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